Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Corinthians 5:1

My friend Ben hates camping. He doesn’t like sleeping on the ground, and he especially dislikes when the wind snaps at the tent walls because it’s loud, cold, and unsettling. Modern tents are usually made from waterproof performance fabrics, but historically, tents were made from animal skins, which could also be waterproof and flexible.

In addition to being a traveling evangelist, the Apostle Paul’s vocation was tent-making.  Paul knew how wind can rip tents because he was the one who repaired those rips. He wrote to the Corinthians, “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1).

Our lives on earth and the bodies we inhabit can feel flimsy. We get torn by winds that rip through us and around us. But Paul says that belonging to Jesus gives us a permanent structure of shelter and we have the promise of new bodies. This is especially good news for those of us enduring physical suffering. Paul suggests that God’s plan for the restoration and rejuvenation of our bodies is something wonderful and that it will be a truer sense of “home” than that which we currently have in our bodies.

Jesus-follower, whatever winds are ripping your tent right now, whether physical or metaphorical, know that dawn is coming. The winds will die down and we will trade our torn tents for solid homes.

 

Resource reading: 2 Corinthians 5:1-10